Three Years Our Mayor

Lincoln Mitchell is an instructor in the School of International and Public Affairs and the political science department at Columbia University. He has written numerous books, scholarly articles, and opinion columns on American politics, foreign policy, the history and politics of San Francisco, and baseball. In addition to his academic interests, Mitchell has worked in domestic political campaigns and on foreign policy projects in dozens of countries, particularly in the former Soviet Union. Mitchell earned his BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and his PhD from Columbia University. He lives in New York and San Francisco.

"hree Years our Mayor is a groundbreaking biography of George Moscone, a strong neighborhood mayor who inspired me as San Francisco's thirty-ninth mayor. This book is a brilliant history of San Francisco during the twentieth century, reminding us why this city is so unusual, and indeed so important. With Three Years Our Mayor, Lincoln Mitchell has established himself as one of our premier chroniclers of twentieth century San Francisco. Mitchell's skill at combining expert and thorough research with a style that is readable, accessible, and even fun, is an additional reason why this book is so extraordinary. Three Years our Mayor is an essential read for anybody, whether you are studying it from afar, a long-time native. or have just moved here and want to understand San Francisco." - Art Agnos, mayor of San Francisco, 1988-1992   "Three Years Our Mayor is an excellent biography of Mayor George Moscone set in a richly contextualized political history of San Francisco. In a deeply researched and brilliantly executed book, Lincoln Mitchell skillfully analyzes the other San Francisco, the everyday city beneath the superficial Baghdad by the Bay and Summer of Love hype. With vivid prose and eye-catching detail, Mitchell lays bare the social and cultural tensions that seethed below the surface and then shook the city to its core in 1978 when Dan White murdered Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the loves and hates, hopes and fears, and contests over power and privilege that laid the foundations for today's city." - William Issel, author of Church and State in the City: Catholics and Politics in Twentieth Century San Francisco    "Lincoln Mitchell's Three Year Our Mayor: George Moscone and the Making of Modern San Francisco is both a brilliant biography of an overlooked and captivating figure in San Francisco history and a sophisticated political analysis of how cities adapt and ultimately thrive in the face of great economic and social challenges San Francisco was one of only a few American cities that came through the 1970s to emerge as an economic powerhouse with a diverse population and inclusive politics. Mitchell's in-depth research combined with his excellent writing and storytelling skills helps us understand why. This book should be read by anyone interested in the fascinating transformation San Francisco." - Ester Fuchs, professor of public affairs and political science, Columbia University "Three Years Our Mayor offers a rich, yet detailed, analysis of how a major world city has managed to adapt to the economic and cultural forces of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Mitchell has written a book that will fill a vital gap in our knowledge of San Francisco and its influence on the entire state of California and the nation." - Mitchell L. Moss, Henry Hart Rice Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, New York University "A well-researched, rich in detail and local color account of man of his time before his time. Mitchell s recognition of George Moscone's prescient instincts of progressive values is most welcomed. Moscone achievements obscured by a brutal twist of history, now revealed assiduously, with compassion and academic empathy. In todays kaleidoscopic political landscape we've been cheated of the humanity and evolvement of a gifted man. Whose moral compass is missed and documented by Mitchell s skill and scholarship." - Tom Ammiano, former San Francisco supervisor and California state assembly member ​"Lincoln Mitchell's illuminating book about George Moscone's years as mayor of San Francisco a half century ago should be eagerly welcomed by urban scholars. . , , Mitchell's excellent study of Moscone's life and times half a century ago is surprisingly, and perhaps sadly, timely and relevant in today's turbulent and increasingly dangerous political world." - Richard E. DeLeon, emeritus professor of political science, San Francisco State University

• List of IllustrationsPrefaceChapter One: NeighborhoodsChapter Two: Family and ChildhoodChapter Three: San Francisco After the WarChapter Four: The Navy, College, and Law SchoolChapter Five: First CampaignsChapter Six: Freeway Fights and Supervisor MosconeChapter Seven: California in the 1960s IllustrationsChapter Eight: In the SenateChapter Nine: The Race for Mayor—Round OneChapter Ten: The RunoffChapter Eleven: Mayor MosconeChapter Twelve: The Changing Board of SupervisorsChapter Thirteen: Moscone's Last YearEpilogueAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author